Greener Gift-fics
by Kay Hau
Summary: A collection of gift-fics for Sunny Lighter, based in her Grass is Greener universe. 1, First Fight: Lloyd thinks it's the end of the world when Nya gets mad at him. 2, Free Tackles!: Kai gives hugs, Nya gives tackles. 3, Like Me: Lil'Loyd and Luh-Loyd bond over shared worries about non-human traits. 4, Brad and Gene. 5, Diet Time. 6, The Chart. 7, Touchy.
1. First Fight

First Fight

Summary: Lloyd thinks it's the end of the world when Nya gets mad at him. Morro explains some facts about friendship.

Timeline: Shortly after chapter 2 of Greener Pastures. Lloyd is about 8 years old.

World: Movie-verse.

_Author's Notes: Dedicated to Sunny Lighter, of course! Based on a headcanon that Lloyd believes what other people say a little too easily. Couple this with a rather severe lack of socialization until Nya and Kai, and you've got a recipe for a terrible misunderstanding. Thank goodness for a certain overprotective cousin! _

_Note, this may contain spoilers if you are not caught up in Greener Pastures. _

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

I ruined it. I ruined it. I ruined it. The best thing in my life and I ruined it, just like I ruin everything.

"I don't know what happened, Wu!" Mom thought she was being quiet, but it's kind of hard to have private phone conversations in an apartment with little more than cardboard for walls. "He hasn't said a word since last night! I'm getting scared! All he does is shake his head when I ask him questions and hide under my bed!"

I'll come out. Eventually. Maybe.

Maybe not. If I come out, I'll ruin more things. Next time, it'll be my mom. I shivered and slunk further back beneath the heavy old bed someone had given mom. She couldn't move it, and was too large to get under it with me, making it the perfect place to hide away so I wouldn't hurt her too.

"I can't lose this job too, Wu. Please. I'm begging you. Yes, yes I know there's always a chance of a Garmadon attack, but... Ok. Ok, thank you. Morro? Doesn't he have school?"

"What?! He just ran off?! Oh, dear, he must have overheard us! Yes. He can do that? Um, ok. Are you sure? Oh, thank you! Uh, yeah. Fifteen minutes, I think I can wait that long. I'll be a little late, but they shouldn't be able to fire me just for that. Ok, see you soon."

I heard Mom hang up the phone. Then footsteps, the tapping of her sensible low heels as she came over. A slight shuffle sound as she lowered herself to peer under the bed at me.

I hid my face so she wouldn't see my tears. She was already worried. I didn't want to make it worse. She had to go to work, so we wouldn't lose our home. Again.

My fault. It's always my fault. I ruin everything.

"Uncle Wu and Morro are coming over to watch you while I'm at work, sweetie," Mom explained gently, reaching out her hand as far as it would go. "You sure you don't want to tell me what happened?"

I shook my head, not reaching back to her hand. If I touched her, maybe I would, like, infect her. They'd been talking about germs at school. Maybe that's what I am? Some giant germ that just goes around infecting people.

"Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor, love? Please, be honest with me. Are you hurt?"

I shook my head. No. Not hurt. Just, just wrong.

"Did something happen with Kai and Nya?"

I shook my head. No. Not their fault. They'd been so patient, so kind, so loyal. Not their fault. Everything's my fault.

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Nothing good in my life sticks around.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

"It's a present from my mommy and daddy!" cheered Nya excitedly, showing me her Lego model of a giant spider, bigger than my head. It was in a position of honor on her desk. Girls have weird tastes. "We spent days putting it together! Kai too!"

"Isn't it kind of... creepy?"

Nya laughed and tackled me. "Nope! No more creepy than you, silly! Spiders are awesome! There's this one that can walk on water - isn't that SO COOL?!"

I took a step back, right into Kai, who caught me in a hug and giggled. "I don't like spiders either," he whispered. "But Nya loves 'em!"

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

"YOU DID IT ON PURPOSE!" shrieked Nya, shoving me away. Kai was too stunned to defend me, or maybe he didn't want to anymore, because he was on his knees in a panic before Nya's shattered treasure, trying to scrape together the blocks.

It had been a mistake. I didn't mean to. We'd just been playing, and I bumped the desk, and I hadn't been quick enough, and...

"We never should have let you come over! You ruin everything!" shouted Nya, face red and hot tears shining in her eyes.

"I didn't -"

"DON'T SAY ANYTHING! Don't talk to me EVER again! I hate you!" she continued screaming. Nya took one more furious glare over the scattered Legos, the hours and hours of work she and her family put in, and stormed out of the room.

"Nya!" shouted Kai, running after her. "Nya, wait!"

Shaking, I sat on the floor of the bedroom, staring at the disaster. My fault.

I should fix my mistakes. I couldn't fix my relationship with Nya, and probably not Kai either since they're always together, but maybe...

Probably half of the spider was still intact. Most of the body and head, a couple of the legs. It looked worse than it was.

I swallowed, already knowing they were gone. I'd never be able to come back again.

I shoved that thought back and scrounged around the room, making sure I had every piece, then began clicking together the little blocks. It took about half an hour. I could still hear Nya crying and screaming in the living room. Occasionally I could hear her mom and Kai trying to talk to her, reason with her, but her mind was made up.

It was all Lloyd's fault. Of course it is. I ruin everything. She didn't want to see or talk to me ever again.

Nya was right. About everything. She always was. Maybe I had broken the spider on purpose. I had thought it was creepy. Maybe I'm evil like my dad after all. I break things and don't even know why.

I carefully placed the repaired spider figure back on her desk and slipped out the window. Ran home as fast as I could and hid under mom's bed. I wouldn't be able to hurt anyone down there. Nya wouldn't have to see me or talk to me. No one would have to see me or talk to me.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

"What's up, squirt?" asked my cousin, poking his head under the bed.

I had heard him and Uncle Wu arrive a minute ago, heard them greeting Mom as she hurried out the door, desperate not to be later than she had to.

I'm just making trouble for everyone, aren't I. Ruining things without even meaning to. Or, I don't think I mean to? I try not to...

I didn't look up. Morro shouldn't have to see or talk to me either. I would just mess things up with him too.

"Ok, enough of this crap," Morro said, squirming under the bed and - No! He fits!

I tried to hurry away from him, but he caught my ankle and yanked me out.

"YOU are going to tell me what happened!" ordered Morro, bossy as usual.

I shook my head and scrabbled to try get away, so I wouldn't hurt him too, so he wouldn't hate me too, but he sat on my feet!

My mouth dropped open and I stared at him in disbelief.

He smirked. "Refuse to talk all you want, Lloyd. I can read you anyway! Are you hurt?"

I shook my head.

"Good. I haven't taken those first aid classes yet. You went over to Kai and Nya's after school yesterday. Was it Kai?"

I shook my head.

"Was it Nya?"

I shook my head even quicker. Not her fault. Mine. All mine. Tears rose again to my eyes.

"So it was Nya. That brat."

My eyes widened in panic. "No!" I shouted.

Morro flashed his signature smirk. "See! You can still talk! So talk!"

I tried to sit up. Morro stood and offered me a hand, but he didn't let go once I was up. Probably suspected I would try to hide under the bed again.

I kind of wanted to, after all.

"What happened? Something happened. Tell me or I'm going after Kai and Nya for the story."

"No!" I shouted again. "Don't bother them! They just - Nya just - theyjustdontwanttobemyfriendsanymore. It's my fault. Don't bother them, please."

Morro looked stunned. He pulled on my arm that he was holding until I stood up, then pushed me to sit on Mom's bed. He sat next to me, pulling me into a hug.

"That doesn't sound like the twins at all, Lloyd. I'm gonna have to hear this whole story."

Morro wasn't big on hugs, so his were extra special. I sniffed, choked, tried not to spill the whole stupid story, but eventually couldn't resist. Eventually I reached the end.

"So, so, Nya's screaming and crying and she says she hates me and never to talk to her again, so, so," I sniffed and wiped my snotty face with my sleeves. "So I can't go to school because she'll have to SEE me, and I don't want to, want to talk, because talking makes everything worse, and, and this is all my fault and -"

Morro sighed and leaned back on the bed. "So, knowing you, you fixed her model then ran away back home, and you've been hiding under this bed until I dragged you out."

I nodded miserably, cuddling close to my big cousin. He didn't usually let me act like this, usually called me out for being a crybaby, but right now he was letting me so I was taking full advantage.

"There's only one solution to problems like this, Lloyd," said Morro sadly.

I looked up at him in confusion. Well, yeah. Obviously. Never talk to them again. And do my best so they don't have to see me either.

"You have to talk to them."

"No!" I panicked. "I promised!"

"You did no such thing."

"But, but, but Nya said-!"

"When people are angry, they say all sorts of crap. She didn't mean it."

"It's Nya! She always means it!"

Morro shook his head, seeing he wasn't getting anywhere. "Let make a bet. I bet that right after school Kai and Nya are going to come pounding on the front door, demanding to talk to you. That Nya's gonna apologize and say she didn't mean it. And that you three will go back to being annoyingly inseparable."

"No, they won't. She won't," I denied, staring at the floor. Morro didn't get it. Morro was family, like Uncle Wu and Mom, so he didn't get that I was evil and shouldn't be allowed to talk to people. I hugged him a little tighter.

"C'mon, let's play scrabble or watch a movie or something. And Wu's gonna want to check you over. He was worried you got hurt and were hiding an injury from your mom. He's probably already got tea waiting for us."

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Morro was right, to my eternal confusion. Within fifteen minutes of when the last bell for my elementary school would have rung, there were pounding feet running down the hall of our apartment building and then pounding fists on our door.

Uncle Wu opened the door at hearing the young voices, not surprised at all at seeing Kai and Nya trip over themselves to rush in.

They can't see me. Can't talk to me. Not my friends any more. I'll hurt them. Again.

I dodged Morro's hands as he reached out to grab me - how can he always read my mind?! - and lunged for the door to Mom's room, fully intending to crawl back under her bed and never come out again.

Nya jumped me, slamming me to the ground with her on my back. I was crying already.

She hated me. Hated me. Was probably here to beat me up. I shied away and brought up my arms to shield my head.

"Lloyd?" she asked hesitantly, which isn't like Nya at all. I trembled in fear. She was gonna hit me. I just knew it. I deserved it. I broke her spider.

Another weight slammed into me, this time Kai, grabbing me and squeezing me tight in one of his hugs. Lifting me half off the ground as he began shouting at Morro for some reason.

Even now, Kai has the best hugs. I squeezed him back. Maybe Kai doesn't hate me like Nya.

"What happened?! Why did you - Why did he miss school, Morro?! Who hurt him?!"

"Seriously?" asked Morro, really laying on the dark voice. "You have to ask? He said Nya hates him now. Never wants to see or talk to him again."

I didn't dare glance at Nya. Couldn't bear to see the hate in everyone else's eyes reflecting out of hers.

There was a long silence.

"I didn't mean it," Nya said, in a trembling voice. "I didn't mean it!" she protested again, louder.

I shivered and clung to Kai. I felt her hand on my back and shied away again.

"Talk to me, Lloyd!" Nya cried. "Please! I didn't mean it!"

I shook my head, not looking at her. She'd said it. She'd meant it. I know she did.

Even if she, if she didn't. Hadn't. I didn't want to hurt her again. Not like that. Never again.

I heard the zip of a backpack, and then SMASH. My head whipped over in shock and saw...

Nya, face red with tears and snot running down. At her feet, the smashed remains of her spider. This time completely broken apart. Barely any blocks were still attached after she'd... thrown... why?

"My little brother is worth more than a stupid spider," choked out Nya. "I'm so sorry, Lloyd. I didn't mean it. I'll never hurt you like that again."

I stared at her, stunned. She reached into her backpack again, pulling out a box with a picture of a green dragon on the front. Another model.

"After, after you left yesterday, I felt so bad. I looked for you all day today to give this to you to apologize. Mom and Dad took me to the store last night. I had just enough saved up."

"Hey! It's from me too!" complained Kai.

"With Kai's money, I had just enough saved up."

Kai seemed content with that.

Nya held it out to me. A present. For me. An apology present.

"But I'm the one that -"

"It was an accident," said Nya softly, sounding like she was quoting from a lecture she'd gotten. "I've broken things too. Lots of Kai's things. Accidents happen. But what I said was, was 'uncalled for' and just really mean. I'm sorry. I don't want you to never talk to me again. I want to be your friend and big sister every day forever."

I hesitantly pulled away from Kai and held out my arms. She rushed forward and hugged me tight, repeating how sorry she was and how I was her little brother and that she didn't mean it and would never mean it.

Glancing over, I saw Morro roll his eyes and Uncle Wu passively sipping his tea.

We cleaned up the blocks from Nya's spider and put them in her backpack. She said she could just make it again, or maybe use the blocks for something even cooler next time. Then we opened the box for the green dragon figure and spent the evening putting it together.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

I smiled happily as I waved goodbye to Kai and Nya. Their Dad had come to pick them up, and to give them quite the lecture. They were not supposed to leave school on their own, apparently.

"You know this is going to happen again, right?" asked Morro.

I turned and gaped at him in horror. "No!" I finally protested. "No, it was an accident, it won't happen again! And we promised! No more screaming at each other!"

Morro shrugged. "Friends fight sometimes, Lloyd. It doesn't mean you're not friends. Sometimes it just means they need some space until they cool off."

I blinked. Fighting with friends was... normal?

"Of course, that's no excuse to say hateful or cruel things. Just, be ready to forgive? And don't let it drive you into the ground again."

I think I know what he meant. I blushed as I remembered my mom panicking. I hadn't meant to do that to her. It was kind of babyish to hide under the bed like that.

Uncle Wu chuckled and stroked my hair. "You'll be fine, Lloyd. Just remember to give people the benefit of the doubt. Most of the time, they probably don't mean it."

"I don't know about that," grumbled Morro, using his dark voice.

I smiled. He loved me. Morro always used the dark voice when people were mean to me. I wrapped my arms around his waist as tight as I could.

Wu chuckled and I heard a click as he must have pulled out his phone and taken a picture. He did that a lot when Morro and I were together.

I heard keys in the door. "Mom!" I shouted, as she turned the handle and came in. I rushed to her and gave her a tight hug. "I'm sorry! I'll go to school tomorrow! I won't be quiet like that again! I didn't mean to scare you!"

She bent over and kissed my head, smiling in relief, eyes shining with love.

Maybe I don't ruin everything after all.


	2. Free Tackles!

**Free Tackles!**

Summary: Kai gives hugs, Nya gives tackles. Such are highly contagious, and all who come into contact will eventually start reciprocating. These are just facts of life.

Timeline: Same timeline as Ch 7 of Greener Pastures. Follows the team forming and bonding.

World: Movie-verse.

_Author's Notes: To be read in connection with Sunny Lighter's "Free Hugs!" (Greener Pastures, Chapter 7.) Enjoy!_

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Lloyd

The first time Nya tackled him, Lloyd had no clue how to react. Especially since it was quickly followed up with Kai grabbing him in a hug and both twins squealing about how they were so excited to be in the same class as him and how they were going to have so much fun!

He had just met the two the day before and hadn't known what they would do at seeing him again in school. His bets would've been placed on them ignoring him, even though he didn't think they would actually be mean to him like the others. The twins had strong feelings about bullying, he already knew that much.

Apparently the twins also had strong feelings about their new little brother, as they stuck to his side like glue the entire day, giving dirty looks to anyone that looked at Lloyd unkindly. And hugging and jumping on him at every chance.

Soon enough, most kids learned to lay off the Garmadon brat, at least at school, since that girl twin especially was vicious, flying through the air out of nowhere like a screaming banshee whenever her little bro was in trouble. And the boy twin was always right behind her. Beating on one lone little monster was one thing - going up against three was another matter entirely.

Jay

Jay actually received a Nya Tackle (TM) even before a Kai Hug (TM). The go-kart contest he'd partnered with Lloyd in had just been last week, and the twins finally weren't giving him death glares of "hurt our little brother and they won't find your body" anymore.

They'd even hung out the afternoon before, playing together in his parents' garage. His ma and pa were always cool with letting the kids go through their spare parts, and they'd had a ball trying to make a mini-mech with Master Building. The result wasn't very pretty, but it could follow them around and play fetch.

So it came completely out of the blue when, instead of a normal greeting, Nya JUMPED at him, smacking him to the ground as she laughed in delight, leaping off him and making room for Kai to pull him up and into a hug.

Lloyd was right behind them, and seeing the bewildered look on Jay's face, giggled. "You'll get used to it," he whispered, big smile in place.

And he did. Soon enough he was tackling the twins and Lloyd right back.

Zane

Zane was very concerned for Nya's health the first time she tackled him. One second she had been sailing in his direction through the air, the next she was flat on her back on the ground, stunned look on her face.

Knowing the fault lay with his metallic frame, Zane panicked, dropping to his knees and checking her over for injuries. If he only was a normal kid, things like this would never happen!

"You alright, sis?" asked his new friend Kai.

Nya rose a hand to what looked like a bruise forming on the side of her face. Zane's heart, or what passed for one, ached at the gesture. "Did you get the number of that bus?" she joked.

"I am so sorry!" The words surged out of Zane's mouth. "This is all my fault! I never should have - I should've warned - but, but - !"

"Stand up," growled Nya, giving Zane a shove as she got to her feet herself.

"What?"

"I'm going again!" insisted Nya, to Zane's bewilderment.

Once they were both upright, Nya again charged at him, this time leaping to grab hold of him instead of crash into him. She landed on his back and began cheering uproariously, knees holding herself in place as she pumped her fists in victory.

Kai, Lloyd, and Jay joined in on the cheers, until the three started arguing about whose turn it was next.

Huh. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Soon enough Zane had been designated team jungle gym. And once he was exposed as a nindroid, it was even better. Extendable arms are AWESOME swings and catapults.

Cole

The first time Nya tackled Cole, or rather tried to, he caught her. Without batting an eye, he set her back on her feet.

A smile of delight grew on her face.

Soon enough, all five of his new friends were lunging at him at every chance. Cole had no problem catching them, sometimes one in each arm, though more than two was a bit of an issue. If all five timed it just right, they even managed to take him down under a dog pile, and THAT was an achievement to crow about!

Somehow this game began to evolve from being caught... to being THROWN. No one was sure how it started, but it soon became a favorite pastime to launch themselves into Cole's arms, knowing he'd launch them in turn up into the air, or out across the sand dunes, or even into the water if they were near the sea. (Except Kai - he hated the water.)

It wasn't until many years later that Lloyd realized his Uncle Wu had been manipulating their games into ninja training all that time. But whatever, it was totally worth it.

... And, in case you're wondering, Morro and Wu are no fun to tackle. They ALWAYS dodge at the last second. Garmadon (after giving up evil), now he's a fun target, usually ending up in a six on one wrestling match that could go on for hours!


	3. Like Me

**Like Me**

Summary: Lil'Loyd and Luh-Loyd bond over shared worries about non-human traits.

Timeline: Shortly after the end of Grass is Greener.

World: Movie-verse.

_Author's Notes: This was actually my first gift-fic for Sunny Lighter, but it contained so many spoilers I had to hold off on posting! Since this was written fairly early on, a few things will probably change between this and the eventual Grass is Greener canon. For now, enjoy! _

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~**  
**  
"Have you ever growled at someone?" whispered my younger counterpart, shrinking in on himself in his slightly oversized green gi. "Like, really growled."

The little guy looked so ashamed, so embarrassed. He obviously was not speaking hypothetically.

"Yeah," I confessed. "A few times. I don't think anyone noticed, but it feels really weird." I held a hand over my chest, about halfway between my heart and throat. "From right around here, yeah? More of a vibration than necessarily a sound?"

His large green eyes widened in relief. "Yes!"

I had to laugh. "Dude, did your hair stand up?"

"Totally! Thank goodness -"

"I had my hood on," we finished together, and both started giggling.

Unfortunately, the little guy sobered all too soon. "Do you think -" he started, then hesitated.

"It has anything to do with our dads?" I finished. "Since I'm guessing you did what I did the first time, and looked it up. And saw humans aren't supposed to growl, not like that. All rumbly and deep in the chest."

"And nothing at all about the hair. Closest thing I got was the word hackles, but that refers to hair going down the back. At least we don't have those, right?"

"At least not yet?" I tried a bit of a sardonic joke. He giggled, so it worked.

"Man, I agonized about it for years," I added, leaning back on my hands and looking out at the ocean. We were sitting alone on the docks, just outside the Ninja Warehouse while our dads talked. "Studied my teeth every morning for fangs. Cut my nails super short, terrified they were going to become claws if I let them grow out. Eventually Mom put a stop to that and confiscated the clippers until she could trust me with them again."

I glanced over at him. Obviously the thought had crossed his mind, though hopefully hadn't passed into action yet. "Don't go there, Lil'Loyd. It's really painful and they bleed sometimes. I never did get claws or fangs, so I don't think you have to worry either. A lot of fear and self-loathing over nothing."

"You sure?" he whispered, and leaned a little closer. I wrapped an arm around him and pulled him all the way against my side.

"Yeah. Nothing to worry about."

"I know I should tell Dad. Or Uncle Wu. But I... I just..."

I hugged him tighter and sighed. "I never told anyone either. It's scary. At least we have each other?"

He nodded and snuggled even closer. "Tell me if anything like that happens?" he asked in a shaky whisper. "So I can, um..."

"Be ready?" I replied, in nearly as soft a tone. "Okay. And you return the favor, okay?"

He nodded, but seemed hesitant about something. "Are you sure there's nothing else?"

It was my turn to hesitate.

"Seriously?! We just promised!"

"No no no!" I quickly tried to head off what looked like a temper tantrum. "It's not like that! I've never seen it myself, just something that Kai told me once!"

"What?" he whined. "Come on! You promised!"

"He, um, he said sometimes my eyes look kind of weird."

My younger counterpart blinked, looking confused.

"Think of my dad's eyes and you'll know why that bothered me," I explained.

His mouth opened in a silent oh. The one biggest difference between his dad and my own, prior to his dad being healed anyway. The glowing, fiery eyes like molten lava.

"Did Kai explain what he meant by weird?"

I fidgeted. "He said they flash sometimes. He wasn't able to explain more than that and kinda looked like he regretted saying anything in the first place."

Lil'Loyd kicked his feet as he thought. "That is kinda weird."

"Gee, thanks," I grumbled, giving him a playful shove.

"No, I mean, my eyes glow sometimes, but that's when I use my power. And your Green is really different from mine." He looked up at me with a bit of an apologetic smile. "I was actually born with red eyes - they only turned green after I started training to be the Green Ninja. It really freaked me out at first, but I'm used to it now."

"Huh. My eyes were green from the day I was born. I've seen photos," I replied thoughtfully. "Though I've never seen anyone else with my shade of green, until we met anyway. I looked up eye colors on the Internet, but nothing looked like mine. I was worried for the longest time that someone would make the connection and I'd be outed as the Green Ninja, but no one ever did."

We stared out over the water for a while.

"We're kinda weird," said my little bro, more as a matter of fact than anything to be upset over. But I knew better.

I ruffled his hair. "Speak for yourself, kid!" I teased.

"I am!" he giggled. And what can I say? He was totally right. My giggle quickly joined his.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're really human," he mused, staring off into nothing.

"With Grandfather and everything? Yeah. Me too. Like, I know our moms are. And probably our grandmas. But, sometimes, Dad and Uncle Wu just seem..."

"Yeah. And I don't know about living that long. Like, won't everyone else be dead?"

I gave a sad smirk. "With our luck? Who knows. We could be the first to go. Even if we're not, we're not alone. Right? You'll just be stuck with me for a few hundred years. Maybe the Zanes too."

His eyes widened at the realization that one (two?) of our friends faced the same dilemma as us. As morbid as the thought was, it seemed to give him some hope.

"Maybe Meowthra and Ultra too!" he whispered, almost in excitement. "You're right. We won't be alone."

I hugged him to my side again. "You know, my mom's got this phrase. Don't buy trouble. I asked what it meant when I was around your age. She said there's no point in spending your time and energy on worries that may never come to be. That each day will have trouble, worries and problems and things that don't work out - so why 'buy' more of it and just make yourself miserable?"

He nodded. "My dad's got something like that. You know how he's trying to go pacifist with his new monastery and everything? The whole art of the silent fist? He came up with this: Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift - that's why it's called the present."

"That's deep," I murmured.

"I honestly think he stole it from a kung-fu movie."

We both started giggling, which soon developed into full-bellied laughter that had us gasping for breath.

My mom called out from back on land. "Boys! Who wants dinner? Your dads are craving sushi!"

We scurried to get up and rejoin our parents. Today was a gift. So we'd better enjoy it while we could.


	4. Brad and Gene

**Brad and Gene**

_Part two to "The Tale of Harumi", chapter four of Greener Pastures, by Sunny Lighter. It is also recommended that you have read chapter 27, "Lil'Terrors", to be familiar with Brad and Gene and their place in the Grass is Greener universe. _

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Her name was Harumi. She was eight years old when she witnessed her parents' murder.

She was promptly placed into a special program for troubled children. There she met Brad and Gene. Or rather, there Brad and Gene met her, as she was nearly completely unresponsive that entire year.

Gene was there because he was some sort of genius, and really his other therapists and even his millionaire parents had no idea what to do with him. Especially since he'd self-proclaimed himself an evil genius and took delight in hacking and clever, semi-malicious pranks.

Brad was in the program because his father had been a high ranking member of one of the crime gangs absorbed by Garmadon. His mom, a wealthy heiress, had taken the opportunity to get a divorce, immediately placing her son in special therapy to make sure he didn't follow his father's footsteps.

The self-proclaimed Evil Genius and his trusty sidekick promptly took her under their wings, claiming they would protect her from the weak and stupid adults and even share their toys with her. Gene even vowed he would marry her and she would be his evil queen.

She didn't care, only vaguely aware of what was going on around her at any given moment. Her every waking moment a dream and her every sleeping minute a nightmare.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Her name was Harumi. She was nine years old when her parents' murderer was deemed not guilty in a court of law and released.

Brad and Gene shared in the silent girl's horror and silent fury and began their own evil, and completely unrealistic, plots to exact revenge.

Over the last year, they had both become unashamed Garmadon fans, and would go on for hours talking about their hero and how cool he was. How they would LOVE to have four arms and fangs, how awesome his last mech had been, they even had lists of their favorite quotes and poses. Thus most of their childish plans had to do with becoming four armed monsters and SMASHING the vile man.

For the most part, Harumi continued to ignore them. Background noise. Not important. She honestly didn't pay much attention, too busy being absorbed in her hatred of her parents' murderer and plot to get revenge.

The two boys would try to cheer her up, with cookies and movies (they were partial to monster invasion movies) and flowers and stories. For some reason they saw her as part of their little gang, even defending her fiercely from other kids who might want to bully her over her lack of a voice. Not that that was very common, with the morbid story of her parents' murder such a hot topic.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Her name was Harumi. She was ten years old and had recently been adopted by the mayor of Ninjago City.

Whether fate or coincidence, she was placed in the same elite school as Brad and Gene, and even in the same special class for troubled kids, those with mental or emotional issues but weren't handicapped physically. It really was supposed to be a sort of group therapy, but ultimately wasn't that different from the government sponsored program they'd been a part of previously.

It sort of worked. Harumi continued not to speak, but the two troubled boys had no problem telling her their own stories, as they always had.

Their idolization of Garmadon had only grown over the years, and they were somewhat estranged from the rest of the student body for that very reason. It didn't help that Gene would loudly proclaim his opinion that Lloyd Garmadon wasn't evil - he was just a WIMP, and nothing like his amazing father!

No one knew quite what to make of that. It wasn't exactly defense of the hated Lloyd Garmadon. And it WAS exactly a fanboyish adoration of their city's worst enemy. At the same time. The school's ultimate conclusion was he was just insane.

Rather quickly, despite her association with the two school freaks, Harumi became the school's princess. She was very pretty, and would certainly one day be beautiful, with her long, snow white hair, huge dark eyes, beautiful clothes from her new mother. Brilliant, with her straight A's and extra credits, despite her childhood trauma. Popular, with her status as the daughter of the most powerful woman in Ninjago - the parents of her classmates made it very clear that Harumi was to be befriended, defended, and given lavish attention and presents at every turn. And very well liked even beyond that - for the simple reason that she wouldn't get involved in their childish squabbles.

It's easy not to take sides when you don't speak. She did nothing, and so she never offended anyone, and with her position, they all just assumed she was on their side. Even with her mind a million miles away and plotting revenge.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Her name was Harumi. She was eleven years old and it was the week after she'd broken her silence.

Her mother and their staff were still delighted that she was talking again, and took every opportunity to ask her opinion on something or make casual conversation. She learned quickly how easy it is to manipulate people, especially people who already adore who they think you are. The poor dear, trapped in traumatized silence for years after the murder of her parents. Not one of them knowing she was a murderous mermaid, her true form lurking under dark, stormy waters, just waiting for the time to come to destroy all her enemies and those who oppose her.

She was careful to keep her new idolization of Lord Garmadon secret, knowing without needing to be told that her 'mother' would not approve. Her mother, the mayor, believed she could dictate right and wrong, good and evil, to the populace, and she had declared Ninja good and to be loved, and Lord Garmadon evil and to be hated and scorned.

Well, Harumi was fine with her future emperor being evil. It meant no one could push him around, that things got DONE, instead of mired in stupid courts that eventually let murderers walk free. Who didn't hide in a stupid office, afraid to get her perfectly manicured hands dirty! She couldn't wait until he took over, and TRUE justice would be served in Ninjago!

But, again, she couldn't let anyone know. It wouldn't be appropriate, and she was finding being 'appropriate' was an excellent way to get whatever you wanted! Wow, like all she had to do to get an upgrade to her computer system or her own private bank account was make up some sweet story about volunteer work or something and her mom just FELL for it, every time! What an idiot!

So Harumi began to speak. It made the news as a happy local interest story, and only the most clever would connect it with the crippling attack on her parents' murderer by Garmadon.

Gene was very clever, and anything Gene figured out was soon known as fact to Brad.

Thus Harumi, on her first day back to their special class after the announcement that she was speaking again, was greeted with an excited, "How did you do it?!"

Harumi fluttered her lashes, and played with her long white hair, actions sure to distract Gene - at least normally. But this time his eyes behind his glasses were sharp, taking in her new mermaid hair clip and smirking.

"Mermaid. Niiiiiice. Those things are vicious - and totally fitting with what you got away with! Seriously though, Rumi, how did you do it? How'd you set him up to get crushed by Garmadon?!"

Harumi blinked in surprise. She'd never dreamed anyone would see through her cute act with the mermaids!

"I didn't do anything," she commented in her new, if soft and still a little rough, voice. (She was now enrolled in speech therapy on top of everything.) "I am just very grateful justice was finally served."

Brad and Gene exchanged looks, and both broke out laughing.

"Come off the act, Rumi," chuckled Brad. "We know you've been plotting that guy's death for years now! You didn't have to tell us, that much was obvious!"

If it was so obvious, why did no one else make the connection? Not even her mo-, the mayor? And how did these two boys, who she'd known for years but never paid any attention to, know what had been going through her head? No one else had seen through the silence!

"My money was on you offing the guy yourself, but this was much more clever!" commented Gene.

"My money was on you getting someone else to do the dirty work, so Gene owes me three rose bushes!" proudly announced Brad.

"You said two!"

"Last week it became three! You said you saw a flash in her eyes and it would be any day now, but I said-"

"ANYWAY," interrupted Gene, shoving his glasses up his nose and pointedly turning away from his best friend back to Harumi. "Come on, Rumi, spill! Please?"

"I... I..." Harumi's eyes floated to their sleeping, useless, teacher/therapist. You'd think the most elite private school in Ninjago could find better. There weren't any working cameras in this room either - Gene had taken care of those years ago, and regularly reset the loop he fed to it so no one would catch on to repair it.

She swallowed, and, after taking in a deep breath, finally released the whole story to her eager, supportive audience. To her... friends? Who wouldn't, didn't, judge her, who cheered when her hero appeared on the scene, who were genuinely happy for her finding her voice, though apparently they had always been able to understand her. And she'd never really seen or understood that.

Something in her heart, something that had frozen over when her parents were killed, warmed. Maybe didn't melt, but certainly began to thaw.

There were only two people in Ninjago City that never fell for her act, and honestly didn't care that, for the most part, she lived the lie of being a good little princess. They quickly became her best friends, or had they been all along?

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Her name was Harumi, she was sixteen years old, and she was the Quiet1 who would loyally follow Lord Garmadon to the ends of the earth.

She had skillfully created an entire organization, the Sons of Garmadon, under her own secret leadership, that would one day usher in the reign of her dark emperor.

She hated all the stupid people in Ninjago City that idolized the Ninja that kept interfering with her lord. Especially that horrid Lloyd that had even temporarily bribed him into being 'good'!

What a terrible son. And to think she'd once considered recruiting the brat and using him as a symbol of their revolution! To think he'd been actively fighting his wonderful father all that time! How, how ungrateful! Disrespectful! Just plain stupid!

One day soon, she would cause true justice to be done. All the pathetic sheep of Ninjago City would be forced to join her cause or die alongside their precious Ninja.

Well, maybe there were two exceptions. Two exceptions, that knew everything about the Quiet1, were involved with the SOG from the beginning but didn't want to be members, that she would spare.

Even if the idiots were happy that Garmadon was no longer invading weekly and that they could get autographs and selfies when he was doing his community service.

Even if the fools thought Lloyd Garmadon and the Ninja were kind of cool instead of her mortal enemies. At least they still acknowledged Lord Garmadon as the cool-est.

Her friends. Their names were Brad and Gene.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

_Author's Notes: It should be pretty obvious that this is a gift-fic for Sunny Lighter, based on several chats we had on movie-Harumi and her possible friendship with movie-versions of Brad and Gene! It started with the idea that show-verse Brad and Gene, having become friends of Lil'Loyd and even part of his team, the Lil'Terrors, might not want to find their movie counterparts. That they'd be afraid their counterparts were among Luh-Loyd's bullies. _

_Well, not exactly. But yeah, probably not people the Lil'Terrors will be welcoming into their team anytime soon. Lord Garmadon, however, knows them quite well as his biggest fans and is quite happy to give them photos and autographs whenever they find him. Even if he can't remember their names and thus will never make the connection with Lil'Loyd's friends. It's Lord Garmadon after all, and anyone not a Koko or a Lloyd isn't worthy of much brain space. _

_In case you're wondering, yes, part of the reason Harumi is still friends with them after they bailed on being SOG (it's too extreme for them) is that they bribe her with said photos and autographs from Lord Garmadon. She can't exactly get them herself without blowing her cover as the perfect princess, after all! The rest of the reason, at least according to Harumi, is they simply know too much and are too useful to her cover. _

_In truth, they really are her best friends and will be one of, if not THE, main difference between show Harumi and movie Harumi. _


	5. Diet Time?

**Diet Time? **

_Gift-fic for Sunny Lighter, based in the Grass is Greener universe, post-Polish, no spoilers. Enjoy! _

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

It was just homework for health class, their science credit for this year. They were supposed to make charts of their height, weight, body type, and calculate their BMI. No one would see it but their teacher, and she assured them she was only going to grade them based on the accuracy of their math, and not to be embarrassed as they would be discussing the fallacies of using such measurements as standards in the next chapter.

Lloyd failed.

Old habits die hard. He didn't ask the teacher about it, just tried to hide the red F and it's accompanying note saying she didn't appreciate pranks and that she'd expect a correct one tomorrow morning, tucking it into his backpack as quickly and discreetly as he could.

He hadn't had to deal with this sort of thing for over a year now, and Mrs. Black was known to be tough but fair. All his other scores for this class were excellent. Maybe he really had screwed up his math somewhere.

Naturally, his friends (well, Nya), dug it out after school to figure out what he was so sad about.

She started laughing right off the bat, and passed the supposedly confidential paper around.

Lloyd groaned and hid his face behind his hands.

Kai joined her laughter. Cole shook his head and smirked. Jay's eyes bulged at the numbers before he giggled nervously. Even Zane looked confused and smiled, his eyes scanning to the bottom instead of just reading the top numbers like everyone else.

"The rest of your math is fine, Lloyd, so the only issue must be your obviously incorrect weight."

"No wonder Mrs. Black thought you were playing a joke, Lloyd!" exclaimed Nya.

"What were you thinking, little bro?" chuckled Kai. "Did you swap the digits?"

Lloyd took his paper back from Zane, blushing and checking the number. The blush faded as he frowned in confusion.

"No, that's my weight. I used my mom's bathroom scale. It's digital and she just changed the batteries last week."

"And nothing seemed off to you?" asked Jay, bewildered. "'Cause there's no way you've got over a hundred pounds on me."

Lloyd's eyes widened at that. He'd never paid attention to weight before, just assuming he and all his friends were in the same healthy/athletic teenager zone. Over a hundred pound difference! No way!

"The scale must be wrong, Lloyd," concluded Zane. "Not even I weigh that much, for all I'm made of metal!"

Lloyd was looking very confused now.

Cole was frowning thoughtfully. Out of the blue, he snagged Jay around the waist and hefted him up with one arm, then tried to do the same with Lloyd, who wasn't that different in size and build. Maybe a bit shorter and stockier, but the difference should be negligible. Plus or minus maybe ten pounds, you'd think.

It took him two tries, which was surprising for Cole. He frowned as he hefted the two.

"I think he is that weight," Cole concluded, setting Jay down and lifting Zane instead, for comparison's sake. He nodded at their surprised expressions. Lloyd was much closer to Zane's weight, and even slightly heavier. He'd lifted them all before, but had never noticed simply because he'd never thought to compare them.

Lloyd was slowly turning pale, his green eyes growing wider at the implications of all this.

"Maybe lay off the sweets?" Jay tried to joke, but it fell flat. They knew there was no way that much weight could be attributed to fat. Not when they trained alongside Lloyd daily and _knew_ their friend was rock solid.

It had to be a Garmadon thing. And Lloyd was looking distinctly like he might faint, with that same sick expression as the last time Kai had innocently brought up something... inhuman... about him.

"It... probably doesn't matter if Mrs. Black, uh, _knows_, right?" asked Kai awkwardly. "I mean, that, you know. Everyone loves you now, so it should be fine if, if they find out..."

"Bad idea," countered Nya. "We've seen how quickly opinion shifts. In literally less than five minutes we went from losers to heroes."

"It could go either way," commented Zane. "I do not have enough data to conclude the likely reaction of the populace."

Lloyd was visibly curling in on himself, as if ashamed of his own biology, which was ridiculous. But... understandable. Considering the insults that had been hurled at him before their reveal. 'Monster' had been a favorite slur.

"Just use Jay's weight," suddenly blurted out Nya. "Add like 5 pounds to it so it's not obvious, but that should work."

Everyone froze. Thankfully, the suggestion even yanked Lloyd back to the present.

"Lie?" asked Lloyd and Zane together, both looking suitably horrified.

"And apologize to Mrs. Black. Say you made a mistake, that you weren't paying attention and copied the number from the scale wrong, and it won't happen again."

"But, but that would be-"

Nya folded her arms. "So, what, you want to explain to her that you really do weigh that much more than you should? And what if someone like Chad sees that paper or overhears your explanation?"

Lloyd paled again, but at least this time he didn't look faint. Just sick to his stomach.

"Yeah," he agreed reluctantly. "No one... no one has to know. It's not like it actually means anything, right?"

The other Ninja all nodded in agreement. It's not like they were new to secrets.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

The next time they met their counterparts, Luh-Loyd took Lil'Loyd to the side and whispered something in his ear. The younger blond's eyes grew wide, and he exclaimed, "We're WHAT?!"'

Whisper whisper.

"That's why you were so hard to haul around!"

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

_Author's Notes: And thus another headcanon is born! This was an idea of mine and Sunny Lighter's when talking about the possible biological differences in the Lloyds versus a normal human that possibly no one would ever notice. If you don't get that last joke, go check out chapter 28 of In Need of Polish, because it's too great a chapter to give any spoilers for! _

_My not giving any specific weights was deliberate, as everyone's idea of normal weight is different and can vary enormously depending where you're from. As a rough reference, Sunny and I picture Lloyd as the shortest but solid, Jay as next shortest but slimmer, Kai roughly average, Zane as the tallest, but Cole as the largest and most imposing. Of course, any of this is subject to change, depending on our moods and the context of the story. _

_If you're curious how Cole didn't notice before, it's as simple as superstrength. Plus or minus even a hundred pounds isn't a big deal when you can heft a few tons. Just like we might not notice a difference of two or three pounds when lifting a child. _

_Also, the reason no one noticed before with Lil'Loyd is because their only comparison for a little kid's weight is Tiny Echo... who is made of metal. They probably figured all little kids are around that weight. _


	6. The Chart

**The Chart**

"YOU WIN, LUH-LOYD! YOU WIN!" shouted Lord Garmadon, completely interrupting the Ninja's Volcano Movie Night as he charged in, swept his son right off the sofa, and began crying lava tears in delight.

Wisely, Cole hit pause. This could take a while.

"Dad! ... Squishing! ... Me!" choked out Lloyd, squirming to try loosen his Dad's Oni-strong grip around his chest before he cracked a couple ribs. Again.

Kai snuck up behind the two Garmadons for the express purpose of putting out the little fires started by Lord Garmadon's tears on the carpet without disrupting the beautiful(?) father-son moment.

"What did he win?" asked a curious Jay.

"He's the best! My son even beat ME! I've never been so proud!"

None of that was news to any of the Ninja, and Garmadon said the same thing at some point, in some manner, basically every week, so the tears seemed a bit excessive.

Garmadon continued. "I always suspected, but now that my nerds have finished the chart, I can PROVE it! My son is the best! He even slaughtered you five losers!"

"A chart to prove who is best?" asked Zane, perking up. He always liked charts. "Best in what way? Or is it an overall thing? How do you quantify the-"

"Come see!" cheered Garmadon, setting Lloyd down only to grab his arm and run off, loudly continuing his boasting that Lloyd was the BEST and now he could PROVE it!

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

This was... not what Lloyd expected. He was surely already bright red from mortification.

Though, in hindsight, he really should've expected something like this.

The title of the chart was "Property Damage". It was scored in Ninjagian currency, thankfully rounded to the nearest *coughmillioncough*.

First. Spinjitzu. Master. He'd never been so embarrassed. And his friends eyes had never been so brightly glowing in glee at the future blackmail opportunities, as they eagerly tapped specific dots on the interactive display (it wasn't even on PAPER), which then opened boxes listing out the kind of irrefutable details. It had hyperlinks to government websites for the data and everything.

"This can't be right," Lloyd tried to protest, but it came out as barely above a whisper. "Surely... A-HA!"

He quickly jumped forward, tapping the highest data point, which opened up to damage caused by Meowthra. Which Garmadon, or whichever math minion he'd assigned this project to, had neatly credited to Lloyd.

"I protest!" Lloyd declared. "The damage was caused by Meowthra, not me, and even if you don't credit her with any 'points', surely it's not ALL my fault! It was totally provoked!"

Garmadon shrugged at his son's protest and gestured to the cowering math minion to adjust the chart. The minion tapped at the attached computer, adding Meowthra as a separate 'contestant', and...

Lloyd still won. Though now Garmadon was a much closer second place. Meowthra came in third.

"Maybe we need to discuss the amount of missiles you stock your mech with?" Nya awkwardly tried to comfort Lloyd. Maybe. Her eyes still made it clear she was trying desperately not to fall to the floor in hysterical laughter. Like Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane already had.

"I'm so proud!" sniffed Garmadon again, wiping more lava tears.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

_Author's Notes: Don't remember if this was originally Sunny Lighter's idea or mine, but it's definitely one I agree with! _


	7. Touchy

**Touchy**

"Oh, come on!" Nick Jay blurted out, not able to stop his blush and actually averting his eyes upon walking into the other Ninjas' Warehouse.

"What are you talking about?" grumbled Luh-Loyd, yawning and making to climb out of the dogpile of exhausted Ninja. As usual, he'd been one of the ones near the bottom and center.

Buddy Kai grumbled about not wanting to wake up yet and grabbed his baby brother around the waist, cuddling close, Cyan Nya still asleep curled in on his other side. Freckles Jay woke with a grumble from the loss of his pillow and movement at his sides, but when he started fidgeting, Cole's large arm flung over him to drag him back down. Pep was actually wide awake, snuggled under one of Cole's sprawled legs and with Nya's back to his.

"It's warm!" was the happy Nindroid's reply.

"Like, seriously, maybe this sort of thing is fine for kids, but..."

Spike Kai was right behind Nick Jay, and opened his mouth to ask what was up when he saw the Ninja pile. He started laughing, which only prompted a series of groans from the still sleeping, or trying to, Ninja.

"We just came to find Lil'Loyd," explained Spike.

"He's sleeping. We're all sleeping. Come back later," grumbled Buddy. Even as a happy voice from somewhere under or between him and Cole chirped up, "Under here!"

Everyone except Pep, who had maneuvered to help a burrowing Lil'Loyd find his way out of the tangle of limbs, bodies, and blankets, grumbled as the movement and speech finally started pulling them out of dreamland.

Lil'Loyd managed to escape, not before a noogie from a sleepy Cole and a clingy hug from a mostly asleep Buddy and a chuckle and backrub from his counterpart, who was also taking advantage of all this movement to make his own escape.

"You guys are way too touchy-feely," blurted out Nick, taking a step back as Buddy and Cyan turned sleepy, mischievous grins his way. He had no desire to be yanked into the Ninja nap pile.

"It is kinda weird," commented Spike, who was checking over Lil'Loyd for injury after that crazy day yesterday. Not that he didn't trust their counterparts to take care of him, but still. It calmed his nerves.

Secretly, he was a bit jealous for Buddy being able to sleep so soundly, safe in the knowledge his family was all right there in touching distance.

"Is this about that 'the talk' thing again?" groaned Luh-Loyd. "Ugh, we're not doing anything like that. This is just an after extra long days thing. And we make sure Nya and Jay don't end up next to each other."

"Hey!" shouted the couple in question.

"Not that you'd do anything," pacified Cole, in his eternally stable way that instantly wound the two back down. "Just to calm your parents down when they hear we all slept together."

"That sounds so wrong," Nick Jay tried to muffle his voice, but it was still pretty clear. Eight glares turned his way, but after a moment they all chose to ignore him.

Luh-Loyd had also made his way over to Spike and gave him a sleepy hug in greeting. He would've given one to Nick too, but Jay's counterpart was being irritating this morning.

"He's fine, we're fine, everything's good," Luh-Loyd reassured his friend, being able to see the signs of stress all over Spike. One perk of nearly identical friends - if you can read one like a book, the counterpart is pretty easy too.

Plus, it should just be a given that either Kai would be panicking to hear that the Lloyds had gotten in trouble again when he wasn't there to protect them. But Luh-Loyd's team had taken care of all that and it was over, with no one the worse for wear. At least this time. Buddy Kai had always needed physical reassurance that everything, everyone, was okay, so it made sense Spike did too. At least to Luh-Loyd.

To some degree, to be honest, they all needed that reassurance. Thus the ninja pile they found themselves sleeping in on rough days, when the bullying against Lloyd had gotten physical or when Cole's mom took a turn for the worse or Jay had a bad anxiety attack or Zane just had that existential crisis look in his eyes. It was the one sure fire preventative for nightmares. And not just for the one dealing with the issue, but for all their friends that had been forced to watch and just had no words that could possibly ever be enough. They weren't even sure when the habit had started.

Their counterparts, with the exception of Lil'Loyd, didn't understand. Perhaps due to them not all being the same age, or maybe how they had all had their own lives before they were thrown together. Or maybe just not being, feeling, as completely isolated from society in general... Actually, it probably is a lot simpler than that, and had more to do with how Lil'Loyd had only come into their lives relatively recently.

But Luh-Loyd could see the longing on their faces whenever they walked in on a scene like Nick had this morning, even as they teased or complained that his team needed to grow up already. The desire for that kind of comfort and reassurance, without having to worry about all this 'too old' garbage.

So it was no surprise when Buddy and Nya gave Spike a hug, and Cole and Freckles playfully tackled Nick, and Pep picked up a giggling Lil'Loyd to set him on his shoulders.

His team would win them over, just like they'd won each other one by one over the years. They needed each other. It was that simple.


End file.
